Prologue Campaign Changes
From Reydala
Contents |
Terrain and Climate
Kaltia
The glacial line along the northern border of Kaltia has receded almost 20 miles, and with it the control of the giant kingdoms in that area has receded as well. Once perilous trips such as the pilgrimage to the well of tears and the Frozen road between Kaltia and Leyandra are now much easier and more frequented. Thanks to increased security on these lines, the voyages are more comfortable as well and some traders have begun moving between Leyandra and Kaltia for non-religious reasons.
Weather on the southern peninsula has become hotter and more humid, hurricanes and other summer storms have become much more frequent.
Nuln
Seismic activity has lead to some of Nuln's islands sinking and others rising to the surface, as well as wreaking havoc on most of the rest of the continent.
Contrary to Kaltia, Nuln has had mild summers for the past 10 years. Though, mild to Nuln still implies many tropical storms. Merchants still use the shimmering gulf almost exclusively during the worst summer months. Use of other ports have increased minutely, but significantly.
Leyandra
The receding glacial line has continued over to Leyandra, where the elves have enjoyed new expanses of farmable land. Land prices (around Pallenon especially) have fallen slightly in response.
Increased temperatures in the western regions have led to swampland drying up during spells in the summer. This has caused the Swamp Lily to become even more rare than it was. Elven ecologists are attempting to raise the plant outside of it's natural habitat in order to preserve the plant for the future.
Banato
Warming in the region has led to shallower, murkier rivers. Wild elves are rapidly attempting to expand northward to escape the deadly heat and find cleaner water. Riscana has already suffered many attacks along the borders of the Sasarai.
Riscana and Tyren
Outside of some minute changes in temperature and volcanism along the northern ridge mountains, largely unchanged.
Elem
The southern peninsula has become significantly more livable and arable, allowing some upstart farm communities to take root. Helping Elem's shortage of fertile farmlands.
Ohnben
A few of the desert oases important to desert migration have dried up under increased temperatures. Nontheless, Ohnben continues to survive.
Walstad
No significant changes.
Deities
Human Pantheon
Dizal
Now the dominant God in the human pantheon. In times of regrowth after the terrors of war more people have flocked to Dizal. Continues to watch over Reydala from the Celestial Capital.
Regial
Regial is slowly regaining access to his power by sanction of Dizal, allowing the regal knights to reform under his banner. He is still not allowed to travel outside of the capital however.
Triana
Has all but assumed Regial's former role, now secondary Goddess under Dizal. In response to changing needs and circumstances her battlefield role is now downplayed in favor of her place as a Goddess of Triumph and Victory.
Sor
Continues to watch over the stone garden, though now has regular talks with his kin in their seclusion at the capital.
Hald
Like Regial, is slowly regaining access to his power by Dizal's sanction. During the Dark crusade the Haldian strongholds around the world were largely obliterated, the new ones built to the God are usually far from society and inflict little harm upon it.
Lucion
The scars of the Dark Crusade left many pockets of unreality unresolved throughout the world, Lucion and his servants continue to fight against entrophy. With Laviege rising higher more believers have come to Lucion to fight the witch back.
Cyphus
Continues to watch the world from his tower, chronicling the deeds of the cosmos and ensuring that everything goes according to plan. Enjoys Tea regularly.
Laviege
Laviege activities initially greatly increased after the dark crusade, then seemed to fade. Her methods have become less forward and more underhanded, stealthily infiltrating cities and living in the midst of the people or operating in remote areas of the globe. It is unknown whether the Goddess has something in store for the world, but the Enforcers are constantly on the watch for her agents. Her floating Island temple appears to have returned to the surface of the earth somewhere in the middle of the lost ocean. Mariners take wide routes around it whenever possible.
Elven Pantheon
Mulinel
Like Dizal, Mulinel has seen increased worship in times of great hardship. The Kaltian Krasevae district with it's dual temples in Sanoan and Krasevae instigated a quasi-golden age of Mulinel. The faith spread far beyond the Krasevae region and is now quite popular as far south as Solgorn. At least one Ohnben tribe has come to worship the Goddess. Temples in Elem, Nuln, and Walstad have all increased in number and size.
Fianna
Fianna continues to gain ground in Tyren and has been more active in most nations of the world. She has been calling paladins and clerics at increased rates. Her motives are as of yet unknown, but many have reaped the benefits. She has emerged as another counter-power to Laviege, keeping the witch in check.
Terrema
Terrema's influence has diminished slightly, but remains strong among the druids that survived the crusade. Many groves are still reconstructing after terrible losses. Terrema's new primary concern is standing against the cult of Valgamoor, which she sees as having some positive views but is ultimately flawed.
Ragnae
Ragnae's influence has also diminished, with hard times comes less time for leisure and amusement. If that was not enough, Kali has subsumed some of her more wild worshippers. She still remains popular among those that travel the sea.
The Ice Queen
Worship of the Ice Queen has rapidly declined since the Ice Elves were defeated at the last battle of the well of tears. Even many ice elves have abandoned her. Now her worship is largely confined to the remaining xenophobic ice elves and their far northern fellows in the giant kingdoms.
Seremela
The worship of Seremela as Goddess and Queen is not very widespread by her own wishes. Still her name is hallowed with a reverence equaling the Elemental Sisters in Leyandra, and mostly respected in most places around the world.
The Remnants of the Seven
Kali
Kali now spends more time within the human world and is already stepping on many toes. She has started to gain worship in the more free nations and wherever Dizal holds little sway. Her temples, if one could call them that, often serve dual purposes as feasting halls and bordellos. The population of Half-devils in Reydala seems to be rising steadily, this is largely attributed soley to the goddess herself.
Curiously enough, Half-devils seem to have a far lesser inclination to worship Kali than their fully Reydala native breathren. Perhaps a side effect of them being the victims of Kali's irresponsible behavior.
Worship of Kali is strongly forbidden in Riscana and Walstad, and strongly discouraged by governments pretty much everywhere else.
Valgamoor
Valgamoor now resides within the drastically different blackthrone, taking watch over the remaining devils and his fallen brother Juran. He has come to realize the reknewed beauty of the blackthrone slipping away already, and that he will be unable to maintain it on his own. His hope renewed, he has taken to seeking worshippers from the surface of Reydala to increase his own powers.
Valgamoor's dogma stresses the conservation of natural beauty above all else, cities are seen as blights on the land, the populace as invaders upon the globe. More fanatical druids have turned to Valgamoor and have become what equates to eco-terrorists.
Due to the nature of Valgamoor's worshippers, the religion is largely kept underground in deep forest groves. Terrema's usually peaceful druids now find themselves in the forefront of a war not to protect the forests but to protect their philosphies of co-existence.
Dwarven Pantheon
Hirax
Hirax remains popular among dwarves in Tyren and Kaltia, though continues to lose ground to Fianna in other nations. Hirax seems to be making little attempt to cater to worshipers, preferring instead to stay the course that has worked for millenia.
Dragon Pantheon
Anarechnavaylis
The rise of the dragonborn has been her primary concern. She would rather have all the Dragon-kin safe within her confines, as opposed to subject to harsh mortals and worse deities. She has few followers as always but has agents working on behalf of her desires, fighting for Dragon kin protection and equality.
Over-Deities
Nathicana
No changes are known to have occured.
The Deceiver
Reydala seems to have been free from his clutches for nearly a century, Enforcers have detected no remnants of his power. Given the nature of the beast however, this may be his own will.
Countries
Kaltia
The current emperor reigns from the Artellia District, it is now his 3rd year of rule. An upset victory over the perennial contenders of Reistelm and Estragraille, along with the up and coming Higan.
Kaltia was relatively unscathed after the crusade, only suffering devastation in Sanoan. The actions of the returning heroes did well to rebuild even that. Relations with the scattered Ohnben tribes have improved from numerous instances of refugee assistance.
Kaltia remains very prosperous, especially in the trade of goods that became scarce from the crusade. Their trade horizons have increased and have many multinational trade routes, especially dealing more with Riscana, Nuln, and Leyandra.
Elem
Elem has come upon hard times, while their mineral wealth was restored now they face a natural conflict that rages throughout the islands. The cult of Valgamoor has taken root on the main island in full force, and the great forests have become a druid battleground. Many cities have come under attack, and many have attempted to migrate to the southern peninsula.
Talks are proceeding with Kaltia again about possible district-ship, this time Elem seeming to be much more favorable. Better policing through Kaltian military prowess could end their problems, but losing their independence is still a daunting step for much of the populace.
The southern peninsula has experienced a great population increase with the new warmer temperatures and relative freedom from the other woes of Elem.
Ohnben
Deloria has been swiftly rebuilt, with assistance from Kaltia. Many tribes were all but extinguished when the cataclysm struck Deloria, new successor clans have risen to group up the scattered remains. The Blue Ravens were reborn under the leadership of San'Shal.
An increasing amount of the Ohnben population has become confined to cities to help with reconstruction as well as concern over the increased harshness of the desert. Many clan elders bemoan the loss of the Ohnben way of life and condemn these squatters.
The cult of Kali has become popular in Ohnben due to lax regulations. An increase in the half-devil population seems to indicate the country may be popular with its deity as well. Like all races, half-devils suffer little discrimination in Ohnben, even after the wake of the crusade.
Leyandra
Leyandra is going through a period of rapid social change unseen before in the nations history. As a result, the populace has grown more fragmented and the rifts between the classes grown wider. Queen Seremela keeps close watch over the awaiting powder keg, trying desperately to balance the tempers of multiple factions.
Humans have become a much more common sight in the realm, especially Kaltian pilgrims and traders. Whether this is a good thing or not varies widely depending on what elf you ask.
A faction of Ice elves have visited Leyandra dissatisfied with their own society. Talks between them were difficult due to the language barrier, but the arrival of the Ice Elf Ophelia with them helped immensely. Under Seremela's saction, they can be found in frostfall year-round and during the winter months have been spotted even further south. Slowly the Ice elves have adapted to Elven customs and the language, though they still suffer from hatred from most elves around Leyandra. They have been slowly overcoming this by assisting in the military's defense from their own kin and other threats from the frozen wastes.
International relations have mostly improved across the board, even with Riscana there has been peace over the last century. Leyandra has suffered some attacks from the recently expansive Banato, however. The wild elves have refused all negotiations and offers of co-habitation thus far.
Riscana
Riscana put its man power to use quickly after the crusade ended, recovering what it could in construction. Their former king was deposed from the crown in favor of it's new child queen, who enjoyed a long and relatively peaceful rule. More than any other nation, Riscana has been fighting the advance of the cults of Valgamoor and Kali, aggressively driving them from their lands. Further threat has come from the frozen North, the giant kingdoms seeming to be getting restless with the shrinking of the glacial lines. Kalzbane's Cold Knights found themselves very busy and their numbers continued to grow well after the death of the General. The queen's oldest son rose to the throne after her death, and thankfully seems to have followed in the way of his mother, focusing on internal strife rather than external conflicts.
Elves remain an extremely rare sight in the kingdom, while trade boundaries have been opened with Leyandra, they very rarely used due to distrust on both sides. New wild elf agression has fanned the flames of anti-elf sentiment anew, though a peace remains between the Leyandrans and Riscanans, it has become increasingly strained.
Riscana has become increasingly jealous of Nuln's new technological escapades and some privateers have arisen taking aim at Nuln ships and trade shipments in pursuit of decoding the secrets behind engineers and generators. Of course, the government denies all involvement in these raids. Riscana has been agressively seeking to court Sea Gnomes into settling on their shores, but the lack of many ports facing the lost ocean has made this difficult.
Nuln
Nuln has entered a quasi-industrial evolution, spurred forward by resident Engineers both from the Gnome Ark and from it's own trainees at the academy. Plans are already underway to expand the Reydalan railways and Nuln ships are dominating trade with their speed over the oceans and on rare occasions the skies. The mild summers have only done good things for trade agreements, especially with Kaltia.
Nuln has shown a helping hand toward Walstad after nearly half of their nation was devastated during the crusade. As a result their previous border disputes have been all but forgotten. The border is now free and Walstad has made it's own social regulations more lenient. The Walstad border towns retain heavy human populations.
Nuln has had it's own problems with the cult of Kali and Valgamoor, mostly from those that were driven from Riscana. The abundant jungles on the peninsula give Valgamoor druids plenty of places to hide, while the relaxed law set of Nuln has done little to impede Kali's expansions. Many half-devils have settled in Nuln after escaping persecution in Riscana.
Safeguarding it's rapidly expanding technology has become a greater concern. Technological secrecy is greater than ever and generators are kept very confidential. Sea Gnomes rarely travel without escorts. New generator research is kept top secret and extremely well guarded in Kasser.
Walstad
Walstad perhaps suffered the most in the wake of the Crusade, many cities that had existed for centuries were lost under the roving hordes. Slowly it has begun to reclaim lost ground, with the help of Nuln and suprisingly enough Leyandra. Reconstruction has been slow and many of the treasures lost were irreplaceable.
In times of great loss Walstad has been forced to accept the growing winds of change, reliant on Leyandra and Nuln for aid until it is once again self-sufficient. All disputes with nuln have been all but forgotten in pursuit of survival.
Valgamoor's cult plagues walstad's vast woodlands, taking advantage of the nation's weakness during reconstruction. Every city must be well defended, every forest patrolled.
